The Beacon

The Beacon
Written by Nancy Harris
Directed by Marc Atkinson Borrull
Irish Repertory Theater
October 20, 2024
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

The Beacon tells (in a most uninteresting, jumbled way) the story of Bev (Kate Mulgrew) a famed painter of abstract art welcoming her son Colm back to the family cottage with his new American bride just has Bev has embarked on a full-scale renovation replacing most of her walls with glass in an odd desire to seek more privacy.Β Β Enter an old family friend and home renovator, Donal who shares a secret (but not that scandalous) past with her son to be followed by a late inclusion of a local true crime podcaster interested in the death of Bev’s ex-husband and what do you get? – We don’t get much.Β Β 

“Oh, Mary”

“Oh, Mary”
Written by Cole Escola
Directed by Sam Pinkerton
Lyceum Theatre
October 15, 2024
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

Essentially, the premise of the play is, β€œWhat if Mary Todd Lincoln was an absolute c***?Β Β That’s the premise and the tone of the play.Β Β It puts Mary as a Real Housewife, repressed cabaret singer trying to get validation and support from her presidential husband – and although her machinations lead to him being shot in that infamous theatre box seat scene – it does return her to the god-awful cabaret world she longs for . .

Our Class

Our Class
Written by Tadeusz Slobodzianek
Directed by Igor Golyak
Adaptation by Norman Allen
Classic Stage Company
October 13, 2024
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

This was a truly masterful piece of theatre and one of the best I have seen this year!Β Β It was a true story of the stage and used the experience of being on the stage with a live audience to the fullest.Β Β 1,600 Jews were massacred in the small Polish town of Jedwabne in the summer of 1941. Such is the starting-point for this play by Tadeusz Slobodzianek which follows recent research by attributing the slaughter not to the occupying Nazis but to the local community.Β Β 

Cellino v. Barnes

Cellino v. Barnes
Written by Mike B. Breen & David Rafailades
Directed by Wesley Taylor & Alex Wyse
AsylumNYC Theater
October 10, 2024
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

Anyone who has spent any time walking the streets of New York, looking at billboards or the sides of busses – but especially listening to TV and the radio has heard the ubiquitous, simple jingle of β€œCellino and Barnes, Injury Attorneys, 1-800-888-8888.”  It was EVERYWHERE!”  When the firm fell apart in 2019, followed shortly after by the death of Barnes in a small-plane crash, it became a tale of machismo, hubris, and lawyers where were doing a few to many shady things on the side.Β 

N/A

N/A
Written by Mario Correa
Directed by Diane Paulus
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center Theater
June 15, 2024
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

N/A is a two woman play between N (a quite obvious Nancy Pelosi – right down to the look, clothes and hairstyle) and A (a near look-alike for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.Β  The two women meet on stage shortly after A has won the election to join the House of Representatives and makes her introduction to N.Β  The playwright, Mario Correa, who actually served as aΒ  Congressional aide prior to writing this play, sets out to tell the story of the person whom many consider the most powerful woman in American history – and the β€œonce-in-a-generation political talent who defied her.” 

the guy who sees everything